^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Deus Ex Augmentations Guide
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Version: Final
[-----------------------------------window width-----------------------------]
0. Legal Stuff
1. A quick note about the FAQ
2. What are Augmentations?
3. Default Augmentations
- 3.1 Infolink
- 3.2 IFF
- 3.3 Light
4. Leg Augmentations
- 4.1 Speed
- 4.2 Run Silent
5. Arm Augmentations
- 4.3 Microfibral Muscle
- 4.4 Combat Strength
6. Torso Augmentations
- 6.1 Environmental Resistance
- 6.2 Energy Shield
- 6.3 Aqualung
- 6.4 Regeneration
- 6.5 Synthetic Heart
- 6.6 Power Recirculator
7. Subdermal Augmentations
- 7.1 Cloak
- 7.2 Radar Transparency
- 7.3 Ballistic Protection
- 7.4 EMP Shield
8. Eye Augmentations
- 8.1 Vision Enhancment
- 8.2 Targeting
9. Cranial Augmentations
- 9.1 Aggressive Defence System
- 9.2 Spy Drone
10.Suggested Augmentation Combinations
- 10.1 Stealth
- 10.2 Brute Force
11.Augmentation Locations
- 11.1 Microfibral Muscle/Combat Strength
- 11.2 Environmental Resistance/Aqualung
- 11.3 Speed Enhancement/Run Silent
- 11.4 Ballistic Protection/EMP Shield
- 11.5 Aggressive Defence System/Spy Drone
- 11.6 Regeneration/Energy Shield
- 11.7 Cloak/Radar Transparency
- 11.8 Vision Enhancement/Targeting
- 11.9 Synthetic Heart/Power Recirculator
12.Augmentation Upgrade Canister Locations
13.Credits
--------------
0. Legal stuff
--------------
*This FAQ was written by El Pinguino. You may not make any money from it nor
may you alter any part or all of it in any way. You may not distribute it
for access in a public place (such as a website) or place it in any document
for publication without the express permission of the author. Finally, do not
link directly to this document. Instead, link to www.gamefaqs.com
*Send your (sensible) questions and comments to ElPinguinoNSA@hotmail.com
------------------------------
1. A quick note about this FAQ
------------------------------
*This is a no-bull FAQ. That means there's little in here that you can find in
the manual. It's a waste of my time, and I'm not in the habit of including
huge amounts of text from the manual just to bump up the size of my FAQs.
*This FAQ is entirely the product of my own play of Deus Ex on the PC. None of
the content is from game guides. The FAQ is now in its Final version, so no
new contributions will be used.
*I wrote this FAQ because augmentations are, in my opinion, one of the most
interesting features of the masterpiece that is Deus Ex. They contribute to
the fantastic level of player freedom that the game offers, letting you play
how you want to.
*I've tried to avoid spoilers as far as possible, because Deus Ex is one of
those very few games with a decent story.
-------------------------
2. What are Augmentations?
-------------------------
*In Deus Ex, you play JC Denton, a government agent who's been enhanced way
beyond your average foot soldier. One of his enhancements is nanotechnology:
little machines in his body that aid the body's own natural systems.
*The upshot of all that is that in Deus Ex, you can buy or find "plug-ins",
that give JC new abilities, or improve his existing ones. These plug-ins are
augmentations, or augs for short.
*Augs occupy slots in JC's body. There's one slot each in his head, eyes, arms
and legs, two underneath his skin and three in his torso. In addition, there
are three "default" augs that are already fitted when you start the game (see
section 3 for details. Each aug has is specific to a slot, so you can't put a
head aug in your legs, for example. Makes sense.
*Augs are found in the form of canisters, which take up one space each in your
inventory. Each canister contains the information for two augs, but you can
only fit one of them, after which the canister disappears from your inventory.
They can only be fitted with a MediBot (right-click the bot and then click the
Augs tab). Once you fit an aug, IT CANNOT BE REMOVED. Since there are more
augs in the game than empty slots in JC's body, you have to make choices about
which abilities you want him to have.
*Once installed, augs are assigned to one of the function keys, F3 to F11 (F12
is taken up by a Default aug). You activate and deactivate the augs by
pressing the relevant key (surprise, surprise). While the aug is on, it drains
your bioelectric energy, shown in the top-left corner of the screen as a green
bar, and on the Augs screen of your F1 menu. Each aug has a different rate of
energy drain, and the more augs you have on, the more energy you'll lose.
Bioelectric energy can be replenished by using Biocells that you find or buy,
which restore 25% each. You could also use a Repair Bot, which can restore 75%
every three minutes or so.
*Augs can be upgraded from their default level (1) to a maximum level of 4. If
you find or buy an Augmentation Upgrade Canister, you can upgrade the aug of
your choice on the Augs F1 screen. You don't need a Medibot to upgrade an aug.
The type of upgrade you'll receive depends on the aug you upgrade.
*The next few sections focus on the augs slot-by-slot. For each, I've given
the in-game blerb for the aug, the energy drain rate of the aug and any
upgrades it can undergo. I've also given my opinion on how useful the aug is
for both stealthy and brute force tactics, and suggested the minimum level to
which you should upgrade it. Of course, it depends how many Aug Upgrade
canisters you can get your hands on.
------------------------
3. Default Augmentations
------------------------
*JC is hardwired with these augs, so they're present at the start of the game.
Since you can't upgrade them or anything, it's not worth giving each one its
own section. Essentially, this part of the FAQ is just information for
interest's sake.
3.1 Infolink
^^^^^^^^^^^^
"One-way micro-transceiver array allows agents in the field to receive
messages from Control, and to store and later retrieve relevant maps,
conversations and notes"
This little gizmo's used by your UNATCO colleagues to give you information and
update your mission objectives on the fly. They'll also use it to comment on
your progress, and tell you if you're doing something they don't like. Your
Infolink is always on, so there's no way to block out the voices in your head.
Energy Drain: n/a
Location: n/a
Upgrades: n/a
3.2 IFF
^^^^^^^
"Automatic friend or foe identification uses advanced heuristic algorithms to
associate visible objects with known threat categories."
Basically, when you point your cursor at something, the IFF decides whether
it's a friend, foe or neutral. Friends turn the cursor green, enemies turn it
red and it stays white for neutral objects. Again, there's no turning it off.
Energy Drain: n/a
Upgrades: n/a
3.3 Light
^^^^^^^^^
"Bioluminescent cells within the agent's retina provide coherent illumination
of the agent's field of view."
So that's a torch then. F12 turns it on and off. Be careful where you use it,
because turning on a bright light in a dark tunnel might just let enemies know
there's someone nearby.
Energy Drain: 10 units/min
Upgrades: n/a
--------------------
4. Leg Augmentations
--------------------
4.1 Speed Enhancement
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Ionic polymeric gel myofibrils are woven into the leg muscles, increasing the
speed at which an agent can run and climb, the height they can jump, and
reducing the damage they receive from falls."
Energy Drain: 40 units/min at all levels
Upgrades: Level 2 - Better running speed, jump height and resistance to falls.
Level 3 - Excellent running speed, jump height and fall resistance.
Level 4 - Max running speed, jump height and fall resistance.
Stealth: The speed enhancement comes in handy when you're trying to find secret
entrances or avoid cameras and gun turrets. It also helps when trying
to get past enemies without getting forced into a firefight, or when
finding vantage points to pick them off from a distance. There are
several jumping sections in the game, and this aug makes them a lot
easier. Remember though that using the speed aug makes your running
noise a lot louder, moreso as you upgrade it, so enemies will hear
you coming a mile off if you have it on. Nevertheless, it's a useful
aug, and cuts down on the long walks at the ends of missions, which I
find tedious. Unless you're really into the silent, close-up kill,
I'd suggest installing this aug, and upgrading it all the way to
Level 4 if possible.
Force: Again, the ability to find vantage points is useful, but you'll
probably be using the speed enhancement to dodge attacks and to run
rings around enemies before you decimate them. At level 4, a skilled
player can circle strafe and destroy a big security bot with minimal
fuss. Definitely install this aug, but watch out: its benefits are
heavily reduced when you're wielding a big weapon. For a brute force
approach, the speed aug is best used in conjunction with the Heavy
Weapons skill. Upgrade to Level 3 if you can.
4.2 Run Silent
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"The necessary muscle movements for complete silence when walking or running
are determined continuously with reactive kinematics equations produced by
embedded nanocomputers."
Energy Drain: 40 units/min
Upgrades: (Slightly quieter walking and running at Level 1)
Level 2 - Quieter walking and running.
Level 3 - Much quieter walking and running.
Level 4 - Quietest walking and running.
Stealth: Running silent is great for stealthy kills. Approach an enemy from
behind without making a sound and knock him out, then silently drag
the body into the shadows. However, the benefit isn't really that
great until Level 2, because enemies will still hear you coming while
you're too far to take them out with a melee weapon. Until then,
you'll probably wind up using the crossbow or a silenced rifle, if
you have one.
Force: Utterly useless. People tend not to hear your footsteps when you're
shooting them in the face.
--------------------
5. Arm Augmentations
--------------------
5.1 Microfibral Muscle
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Muscle strength is amplified with ionic polymeric gel myofibrils that allow
the agent to push and lift extraordinarily heavy objects."
Energy Drain: 20 units/min at all levels
Upgrades: (Can pick up medium sized metal crates at Level 1)
Level 2 - Increased strength.
Level 3 - Greatly increased strength, can now pick up huge crates.
Level 4 - Max strength.
Stealth: Like the speed enhancement, this aug is more for those who want to
avoid a fight altogether. Shifting huge crates and barrels lets you
uncover secret and unguarded routes, and lets you effectively build
platforms to jump over big gaps. There aren't really many
opportunities to do that, though. It's real use is that the greater
your strength, the quicker you are at dragging bodies out of view,
which'll suit the silent killer. Microfibral muscle doesn't make you
hit harder with melee weapons, so it won't make it easier to take
people out from close up. Still, I guess you could use it to move
gas barrels and lure enemies into traps. It's really down to personal
preference on this one. Consider the alternative in section 5.2.
Force: Setting up crates to jump gaps is the only real advantage of this aug,
and since you'll probably have the speed enhancement (4.1) anyway,
this one's pretty much redundant.
5.2 Combat Strength
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Sorting rotors accelerate calcium ion concentration in the sarcoplasmic
reticulum, increasing an agent's muscle speed several-fold and multiplying the
damage they inflict in melee combat."
Energy Drain: 20 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: (Using a baton, it takes four hits to the head from the front to
knock out an NSF foot soldier without the aug)
Level 1 - Three hits from the front
Level 2 - Three hits from the front
Level 3 - Two hits from the front
Level 4 - One hit from the front
Stealth: In theory, you'll always be approaching enemies from the back, and it
only takes a single hit to the back of the head to knock out most
troopers. However, the commandos are tougher, not to mention that
things don't always go according to plan, and you might have to take
out enemies from the front. It's useful to conserve ammo until the
end of the game, so I recommend installing Combat Strength, but not
upgrading it. The Low-Tech Weapons skill increases your rate of
attack, and is a good partner for this aug. Still, avoiding conflict
altogether is safer.
Force: Take it or leave it. Not much else to say, since brute force generally
relies on bullets and explosives.
----------------------
6. Torso Augmentations
----------------------
6.1 Environmental Resistance
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Induced keratin production strengthens all epithelial tissues and reduces the
agent's vulnerability to radiation and other toxins."
Energy Drain: 20 units/min at all levels
Upgrades: (25% absorption of toxins at Level 1)
Level 2 - 50% absorption
Level 3 - 75% absorption
Level 4 - 90% absorption
Stealth: A truly stealthy player avoids all conflict and concentrates on
staying undetected. As a result, the stealthy route is the least
obvious, and sometimes involves environmental hazards. Even if you're
the silent ninja type of player, you'll want the element of surprise,
and that'll mean coming from where the enemy least expects you. The
environmental resistance aug is worth having, but try and upgrade it
to at least Level 2 for a decent effect.
Force: The first third or so of Deus Ex is full of NSF guards and mercenaries,
who use tranquiliser darts, which drain your health fast. Without
giving too much away, the rest of the game features other toxic
attacks, so the environmental resistance aug proves pretty useful,
especially in the several compulsory environmental hazards that JC
has to pass in the game. Try and get this one up to Level 3.
6.2 Energy Shield
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Polyanilene conductors below the skin absorb heat and electricity, reducing
the damage received from flame, electrical and plasma attacks."
Energy Drain: 40 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: (25% absorption at Level 1)
Level 2: 50% absorption
Level 3: 75% absorption
Level 4: 90% absorption
Stealth: You won't use this aug much, although towards the end of the game
you're more likely to be subjected to electrical and flame attacks.
Nevertheless, it's worth remembering that there are only three torso
aug slots. I wouldn't bother with this one.
Force: Enemies in Deus Ex have varying attacks, and there's an aug to protect
you against each of them, but flame and plasma attacks are by far the
most damaging and annoying. There are three big fights in the game;
one of them is against someone with a flamethrower, another pits JC
against a psycho with a plasma gun. It is definitely worth having this
aug, and upgrading it to Level 2 or 3.
2nd Opinion: [I've removed spoilers and tidied it up a bit] "Aggressive defence
system also works vs plasma (PS20s and plasma guns), therefore
energy shield is rather redundant in reducing damage from plasma.
The plasma bolts burst way before they hit you so you get 0
damage from plasma [using Aggressive Defence] as opposed to less
damage [from Energy Shield] (note I have only tried this at lv4
so you milage may vary).
Even more defunct for energy shield is that there are only
4 people in the entire game who use plasma and [a few] people who
use flame throwers, and these charactors are easily defeated heck
you don't even have to kill any of them." Thanks to KF.
6.3 Aqualung
^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Soda lime exostructures embedded in the alveoli of the lungs convert CO2 to
O2, extending the time an agent can stay underwater."
Energy Drain: 10 units/min at all levels
Upgrades: (JC can stay underwater for 17 seconds without the aug)
Level 1 - Can stay underwater for 30 seconds
Level 2 - Can stay underwater for 45 seconds
Level 3 - Can stay underwater for 90 seconds
Level 4 - Can stay underwater indefinitely
Stealth: There are multiple occasions in Deus Ex when you have to do some
swimming, and many more where swimming is the easier route for a
stealthy player. The real advantage of the aqualung, though, is the
potential for exploration. There are plenty of goodies that can only
be reached by swimming, and most of these need JC to have a lung
capacity that's above the entry-level 17 seconds. The energy drain
of this aug is puny, and it's worth having, but don't bother
upgrading it. Keep it at Level 1, and use it in conjunction with the
Regeneration aug when you need a bit more time underwater.
Force: Again, the main attraction of an aqualung is the exploration
potential. If you're using brute force tactics, ammo becomes a
premium, and there's a fair bit of it hidden underwater. If you go
for the aqualung, don't bother to upgrade it. Of course, you might
want to save the slot for more defensive augs.
2nd Opinion: "I think it is a waste. Improve your swimming skill by one level
and your environmental skill by two or more instead, they are
cheap. The swim skill is enough to go through all underwater
passages at the beginning of the game and later on you have
enough rebreathers to explore the underwater areas, your
environmental skill making them last longer (it also improves the
duration and efficiency of thermoptic camo and other protection
devices)."
Thanks to CLAUDE.
6.4 Regeneration
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Programmable polymerase automatically directs construction of proteins in
injured cells, restoring an agent to full health over time."
Energy Drain: 120 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: (Heals 5 points/second at Level 1)
Level 2 - Heals 10pts/s
Level 3 - Heals 25pts/s
Level 4 - Heals 40pts/s
Stealth: However good you are at sneaking and silent takedowns, you ARE going
to get hurt, especially towards the end of the game. Medibots get
progressively rarer and harder to reach, and relying on Medkits may
be insufficient. Basically, get this aug and upgrade it as far as you
can.
Force: See above, only replace "sneaking and silent takedowns" with
"shooting everything in sight". Seriously, you want this aug. At
Level 4.
6.5 Synthetic Heart
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"The synthetic heart circulates not only bloody but a steady concentration of
mechanochemical power cells, smart phagocytes and liposomes containing prefab
diamondoid machine parts, resulting in upgrades performance for all installed
augmentations."
Energy Drain: 100 units/min
Upgrades: None
Stealth: This is an interesting aug, and one which helps you deal with the
dilemma of choosing which aug to upgrade when you find a canister.
Basically, when you activate an aug, activate this one as well, and
the level of the initial aug will be raised by one. So, if you have
Run Silent at Level 1, and you activate the Synthetic Heart alongside
it, it'll be as if you had Run Silent at Level 2. Take note that
there is no effect when you use Synthetic Heart with an aug at Level
4, so it's just a waste of bioenergy. I like this aug, and used it a
fair bit, especially before I managed to get the Regeneration aug to
Level 4. After that, I used it to upgrade Vision Enhancement. A solid
addition to your aug lineup.
Force: I can't emphasise how useful this aug is for upgrading your defences.
Instead of using loads of Aug Upgrade Canisters on each defensive aug,
you can just temporarily upgrade the one you want according to the
enemy you're fighting. Definitely install this if you've got the
Environmental Resistance, EMP Shield, Energy Shield, Ballistic
Protection or Aggressive Defence System augs.
6.6 Power Recirculator
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Power consumption for all augmentations is reduced by polyanilene circuits,
plugged directly into cell membranes, that allow nanite particles to
interconnect electronically without leaving their host cells."
Energy Drain: 5 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: (Energy drain of augs reduced by 10% at Level 1)
Level 2 - Energy drain reduced by 20%
Level 3 - Energy drain reduced by 33%
Level 4 - Energy drain reduced by 50%
Stealth: Take it or leave it. To be honest, there's not really enough of a
benefit to make it worth it, especially considering that it's only at
Level 4 that there's a noticeable reduction in power drain. Save your
slot and your aug upgrade canisters for something better.
Force: Unless you use loads of augs at the same time, I wouldn't recommend
installing this one. Save the torso slots for more defensive augs.
--------------------------
7. Subdermal Augmentations
--------------------------
7.1 Cloak
^^^^^^^^^
"Subdermal pigmentation cells allow the agent to blend with their surrounding
environment, rendering them effectively invisible to observation by organic
hostiles."
Energy Drain: 300 units/min at Level 1.
Upgrades: Level 2 - Energy drain reduced by 25%
Level 3 - Energy drain reduced by 45%
Level 4 - Energy drain reduced by 60%
Stealth: A valuable augmentation at the beginning of the game, but less so as
you progress, and since it takes a while to find it, that makes it
largely useless. Supposedly, when turned on, organic beings - that's
unaugmented soldiers and animals - can't see you, but I've found that
once your bioenergy drops below 33% or so, they can see you well
enough to shoot you. For an aug with such potential, it's pretty
disappointing.
Force: With the range of weapons that you should be building up, this aug
will prove useless. Almost all enemies can be taken out with a single
shot to the head, and while being cloaked might make that easier, the
Radar Transparency aug is far more effective for the tougher bad guys.
Frankly, if you can't take out foot soldiers without this aug, you
shouldn't be trying brute force tactics. There is one sort of enemy
in Deus Ex that would make the Cloak worthwhile - when it can see you,
it can take out an arm or a leg in a single hit - except that you
only meet them three or four times. It's not really worth it.
2nd Opinion: [spoilers removed] "Technically, commandos cannot 'see' through
cloak. The problem is that if any enemy can hear you and is
ready to fire, they will probably hit you whether or not they
can 'see' you. (Try cloaking your way past the [enemies] in the
last visit to Hell's Kitchen. They know where you are -- it's
useless.) Also, available bioenergy does not affect your
visibility per se, but the longer you stay in range (draining
bioenergy), the more likely the enemy is to locate you by sound.
Still, I like it better than Radar Transparency for those quick
dashes past overwhelming numbers of foes. Bots and turrets are
easier to evade by conventional means, as they don't travel very
far if at all." Thanks to SAMSON.
7.2 Radar Transparency
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Radar-absorbant resin augments epithelial; microprojection units distort
agent's visual signature. Provides highly effective concealment from automated
detection systems -- bots, cameras, turrets."
Energy Drain: 300 units/min at Level 1.
Upgrades: Level 2 - Energy drain reduced by 25%
Level 3 - Energy drain reduced by 45%
Level 4 - Energy drain reduced by 60%
Stealth: While it won't be particularly useful early on - just for the odd
camera and security bot - the game relies much more heavily on
radar-based systems as you progress: more robots, more cameras, more
gun turrets and a hell of a lot of cybernetic commandos. Although the
energy drain is hefty, this aug is invaluable, especially when making a
last-gasp escape effort. Upgrade as far as possible. By the end of
the game, you should have the Regeneration and Radar Transparency
augs at Level 4.
Force: Although it may be tempting to go for the Cloak, remember that bots
and commandos are tougher than ordinary soldiers, so it's better if
they can't see you. Also, when you're annihilating everything in a
room, it's safer to avoid being seen by any cameras. Depending on how
you like to fight, you might end up using this aug a lot. Level 2 or
3, I think.
7.3 Ballistic Protection
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Monomolecular plates reinforce the skin's epithelial membrane, reducing the
damage an agent receives from projectiles and bladed weapons."
Energy Drain: 60 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: (19% absorption of damage from bullets and knives)
Level 2 - 35% absorption
Level 3 - 50% absorption
Level 4 - 65% absorption
Stealth: If you're in the habit of getting shot at by automated gun turrets,
it might be worth installing this aug. Actually, there is a lot of
gunfire in the game, much of it from assault rifles, so in some cases
it's hard not to get shot. Depending on whether you're the
confrontational type or not, it's a toss-up between this aug and the
Cloak. I'd go for this one, but don't upgrade.
Force: If you've been following the absorption percentages for the defensive
augs, you'll notice that most of them offer 90% absorption at Level 4.
The ballistic protection is a bit of a gyp, maxing out at 65%, but
since bullets are by far the most common weapon used by enemies, it's
definitely worth installing this aug. Level 2 or 3.
7.4 EMP Shield
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Nanoscale EMP generators partially protect individual nanites and reduce
bioelectrical drain by cancelling incoming pulses."
Energy Drain: 10 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: (25% absorption at Level 1)
Level 2 - 50% absorption
Level 3 - 75% absorption
Level 4 - 90% absorption
Stealth: This aug protects you from EMP grenades, which you should be quick
enough to disarm, and EMP attacks, which are only used in the last
third of the game. Both of these attacks cause JC damage, as well as
sapping your bioelectric energy. It's not worth installing this aug
unless you're really scared of EMP.
Force: Although I normally highly recommend this type of defensive aug, the
combination of Radar Transparency and Ballistic Protection will serve
you much better than the EMP shield. When you encounter the enemies
that use EMP attacks, Sabot shotgun ammo is more than a match for them.
If you're really desperate, you could use a GEP rocket, but you
shouldn't need to.
--------------------
8. Eye Augmentations
--------------------
8.1 Vision Enhancement
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"By bleaching selected rod photoreceptors and saturating them with
metarhodopsin XII, the 'nightvision' present in most nocturnal animals can be
duplicated. Subsequent upgrades and modifications add infravision and sonar
resonance imaging that effectively allows an agent to see through walls."
Energy Drain: 40 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: (Nightvision at Level 1)
Level 2 - Infravision (Warm objects appear brighter)
Level 3 - Close-range sonar imaging (See through walls)
Level 4 - Long-range sonar imaging (See further through walls)
Stealth: Quite useful, and definitely the better of the two choices for the
Eyes slot. The nightvision means you don't have to use the torch, so
you don't alert enemies to your presence. However, nightvision is all
green, so you need the infravision to see enemies more clearly. The
best bit, though, is seeing through walls, letting you assess any
threats around you from a safe place. The nightvision window is only
a small one, but the infravision and sonar imaging fill the screen.
Again, up to Level 4 if possible.
Force: Nightvision means that you don't have to rely on the light created by
gunfire in fights, and infravision improves the effect further.
There's not much use for the sonar imaging, though. In the end, it's
a coin toss between this aug and the Targeting one. If you do pick
Vision Enhancement, don't upgrade beyond Level 2.
8.2 Targeting
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Image-scaling and recognition provided by mulitplexing the optic nerve with
doped polyacetylene 'quantum wires' not only increasing accuracy, but also
delivers limited situational info about a target."
Energy Drain: 40 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: (Name, general health and distance is given at Level 1)
Level 2 - Individual body part health percentages added.
Level 3 - Cursor pinpoints quicker, enemy weapon info added.
Level 4 - Telescopic vision added.
Stealth: You probably won't need this aug much, since you'll be avoiding
enemies or taking them out with a single shot or hit to the head.
Still, if you're hiding in an air vent and can see some enemies, the
health information might help you decide whether it's worth risking a
direct confrontation. I prefer the Vision Enhancement.
Force: Both of the eye augs are equally useful for brute force tactics. To
be honest though, the area-by-area health breakdown is pretty useless,
since you should be aiming for the head whenever possible, and most
of the time fights happen too quickly for you to check the targeting
window anyway. More useful is the quick targeting that becomes
noticeable at Level 3, because it means that you don't have to wait
as long for the targeting reticule to close, so you're more accurate
more quickly. If you're confident of finding lots of augmentation
upgrades, got for this one and get it to Level 3. Otherwise, stick
with the vision enhancement.
2nd Opinion: "Targeting increases accuracy at all levels. +2.5% @ Level 1,
+5.0% @ Level 2, +7.5% @ Level 3, and +10.0% @ Level 4."
- Thanks to SAMSON.
------------------------
9. Cranial Augmentations
------------------------
9.1 Aggressive Defence System
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Aerosol nanoparticles are released upon the detection of objects fitting the
electromagnetic threat profile of missiles and grenades; these nanoparticles
will prematurely detonate such objects prior to reaching the agent."
Energy Drain: 10 units/minute at all levels.
Upgrades: (Close-range detonation of incoming grenades and rockets at Level 1)
Level 2 - medium-range detonation.
Level 3 - long-range detonation.
Level 4 - extremely long-range detonation.
Stealth: Frankly, I'd recommend this even it was a Turd Detection aug, because
the other option for the Head slot is so poor. You won't use this aug
at all, but install it anyway, just to fill the slot. Don't upgrade.
Force: Even though this aug is the default choice because the Spy Drone is
such a steaming pile of hippo crap, I recommend it on its own merits.
The cybercommandos that fill most of the game fire rockets that can
be a pain in the arse, and considering the energy drain is so low,
it's worth installing this aug. Upgrade it depending on how difficult
you find it to take out the commandos.
9.2 Spy Drone
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Advanced nanofactories can assemble a spy drone on demand which can then be
remotely controlled by the agent until released or destroyed, at which point a
new drone will be assembled. Further upgrades equip the spy drone with better
armour and a one-shot EMP attack."
Energy Drain: 150 units/min at all levels.
Upgrades: Level 2 - Improved armour, stronger EMP attack.
Level 3 - Further improved armour and EMP attack.
Level 4 - Max armour and EMP attack.
Stealth: Useless. It sucks bioenergy like a prostitute mosquito, is completely
ineffective against all but the weakest of enemies, and you have to
stand still while you use it. The spying aspect is terrible too,
since it's so slow and unwieldy that it gets noticed very, very
quickly. The only possible use I can think of is surveying an area
from above, but by the time you've got to a decent height, you'll
probably be out of bioenergy. Don't go near it.
Force: As above.
2nd Opinion: "I used it quite a lot, when fully upgraded the EMP attack can
waste any bot, although you need to have the power recirculator
(upgraded) to avoid spending too much bioenergy. It is great to
dispatch bots later in the game without being fired on,
especially if you do not have heavy weaponry. (The best way not
to get killed is not to get shot in the first place, especially
in the higher difficulty mode).
Thus, although the Aggressive Defence System is easier
to use and is very useful against the commandos, the Spy Drone is
certainly not useless, it does disable the large bots.
For me, the choice is like this:
- if I develop the Heavy Weapon skill, I take the ADS aug.
- if not, I take the Spy Drone to kill bots."
Thanks to CLAUDE.
---------------------------------------
10. Suggested Augmentation Combinations
---------------------------------------
When reading these, bear in mind that when I play stealthily, I avoid all
confrontation, and concentrate on remaining undetected. The other option, as
I've mentioned earlier in the FAQ, is a sort of ninja-like semi-stealth, where
you sneak up on enemies and take them out before they know what's hit them.
For that sort of approach, the ideal aug setup will be different. For a start,
you'll probably opt for Combat Strength over Microfibral Muscle.
The numbers following some of the augs refer to their upgrade priority. 1 is
highest priority, so you should upgrade it to Level 4. 2 and 3 are a lower
priority, but still important. After those three, upgrading is arbitrary.
10.1 Stealth
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Cranial: Aggressive Defence System
Eyes: Vision Enhancement (3)
Arms: Microfibral Muscle
Subdermal: Radar Transparency (2), Ballistic Protection
Torso: Regeneration (1), Environmental Resistance, Aqualung
Legs: Run Silent
10.2 Brute Force
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Cranial: Aggressive Defence System
Eyes: Vision Enhancement
Arms: Combat Strength
Subdermal: Radar Transparency (3), Ballistic Protection (2)
Torso: Regeneration (1), Synthetic Heart, Energy Shield
Legs: Speed Enhancement
--------------------------
11. Augmentation Locations
--------------------------
*Remember that augs come in canisters, with two augs to a canister, and since
a canister can only be used once, you'll need to find two if you wanted, say,
the Regeneration and Energy Shield augs. With that in mind, I've listed
multiple locations for some augs.
*There might be some slight spoilers in this section.
11.1 Microfibral Muscle/Combat Strength
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1)This will definitely be the first aug you get, and you can't miss it. When
you finish interrogating the NSF leader at the end of the first mission, the
canister is sitting on the table next to him.
11.2 Environmental Resistance/Aqualung
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) This is found on Mission 2, in the safe in the control room at Castle
Clinton. Standing in the room where you find the Ambrosia container, face the
exit. Go out of the doorway, and up the stairs to your left. Look around to
the left up here, and you'll see a small stairwell going down to the locked
door of the control room. There are three ways to get the door open. Firstly,
you could find the key, which I haven't been able to do. Secondly, you could
pick the lock on the door. If you do, you'll need the safe key, which is found
on the body of the guard patrolling the area near the room where you find the
Ambrosia. Thirdly, you could use a LAM, which blows open the door and the safe
too.
(2) This is found much later in the game. On your second venture into the
Versalife building, into the Level 2 labs, there are three aug canisters and
an upgrade to be found. To complete your primary objective you have to pass
through a big room, which is guarded by blue laser tripwires, an MJ12 commando
and two big security bots which go nuts if the alarm goes off. Disable the
tripwires by bypassing the security panel (100% strength - got Multitools?),
take out the commando and scientist quickly to avoid raising the alarm, and
hack the computer at the end of the chamber. Activate whatever's available,
then go into the small room on your right and hack the security panel to
release the aug canisters from containment. Leave the little room, and go
down the corridor that's on your right as you face the computer terminal.
Go down the ladder and along the gangway, and you'll see the augs. There's a
medical bot down another ladder.
11.3 Run Silent/Speed Enhancement
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1)Another one found on Mission 2. After destroying the generator, go down into
the basement of the warehouse. Down there you'll find plenty of turrets,
cameras and locked doors. One of the rooms is a control room, locked with a
keypad. You could find the keycode (which is somewhere upstairs I've been
told), or you could Multitool your way in (20% bypass strength).
(2) Versalife Level 2 labs. See Section 11.2, part (2).
(3) "At the start of Mission 4, in UnatcoHq after returning from the airbase,
the cannister is in the medical supply closet." Thanks to SAMSON.
11.4 Ballistic Protection/EMP Shield
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1)This aug is found on Lebedev's jet. Look around on the jet and you'll see
stairs going down. The aug canister is held in a locked container near the
Ambrosia crate. The code for the keypad is found on a datacube under Lebedev's
bed.
(2)Much later in the game, at Morgan Everett's place, this aug makes another
appearance. Go and find Everett in his lab, and you'll see two aug canisters
and an upgrade canister held in containment fields. The codes for the keypads
are 2384 for the augs, and 6426 for the upgrade canister.
11.5 Aggressive Defense System/Spy Drone
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) During your escape from the secret MJ12 facility, Daedalus gives you a
floorplan of the area. Find the nanotech area (it's on the way to the medical
area, which you have to go to anyway). In the office at the back of the area,
there's an aug canister in a containment field. Hack the computer to open the
field and grab the aug. There's a medibot in the area, so you can install it
straight away.
(2) This canister is found a little later, but with another two augs, so you
might just wait and get all three together. It's in the nanotech lab in the
Versalife building. When you come into Versalife to get the Dragon's Tooth ROM
walk down the big red chamber and head right. Go into the toilets. In the far
cubicle there's an air vent. Go in, and follow the vent up two storeys. Keep
following the vent along, until you reach a long straight part. Go all the way
to the end (watch out for greasels) and turn right. Go forwards, ignoring the
vent on your right that heads downwards, and you'll come to an area where JC
can stand up. Climb down the ladder, then another one, then a third. You
should see a vent going forwards and one heading left. Go into the one heading
left, and you'll end up in the nanotech lab. You'll see the augs ahead of you.
In an alcove on your right is a computer. Hack it to open the door to the augs
and the containment fields in which they're held. Don't forget to drain the
radiation too. There you go, three augs for your pleasure.
(3) This is found in the DuClares' basement, the entrance to which is found in
the kitchen of the mansion that you go to after meeting Nicolette. To enter the
mansion, go round to the back and smash up the debris blocking the back door.
Once inside, find the kitchen, and get in the dumb waiter. Hit the switch to be
taken upstairs to Beth's room. Look behind the painting on the wall opposite
you to find the key to the basement. If you can't be bothered with the dumb
waiter, just go upstairs and pick the lock on Beth's bedroom door. Anyway, once
you have the key, go back down to the kitchen, and enter the basement through
the door that's down a few steps. Once in the basement, find the very
conspicuous candelabra on the wall and use it to reveal Beth's secret hideout.
Inside, look around and you'll find Beth's computer terminal. Nearby is the aug
canister, along with an upgrade canister, held in a containment field. I didn't
know the code, so I used a multitool (60% strength).
11.6 Regeneration/Energy Shield
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1)During your escape, you pass through the medical centre. Jaime Reyes will
be in there somewhere. Next to him is the aug. Again, there are medbots nearby,
so install immediately.
11.7 Cloak/Radar Transparency
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1)Versalife nanotech lab. See Section 11.5, part (2).
(2)Vandenburg Hazard Lab. Head down to the bottom floor of the main building,
which is called "Command Centre" on the image you're given. In the room in
the north of the building, head into the most northwesterly door. Enter the
grating to the left of the Override panel. In there you'll find the key to
the Hazard Lab. Leave the room and head south, through the foyer with the
computer terminal in it, to a corridor with red laser beams blocking it.
Bypass the security panel and keep going. You'll be in a room with two MJ12
guards and a couple of scientists. Take out the guards and go to the door on
your right, which you'll need the key to open. Inside, the lab is flooded,
and the arcs of electricity coming from the security panel are electrifying
the whole floor. You can either jump across the tables to the far corner of
the room, or just bypass the panel to remove the electricity.
(3)"On the PRCS Wall Cloud, below decks, there is a room overlooking the
helipad which you may enter through the door above the SE corner of the bilge
pump room (Door is 20% or hacked open with the security terminal just before
entering the bilge pump room from the W). Down the hall is a room with a 60%
keypad-locked door to a closet containing a GEP gun, a scramble grenade, some
crates and the cannister. (The door code is 9999, but you would need to cheat
to find it.)" - Thanks to SAMSON.
11.8 Vision Enhancement/Targeting
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1)Versalife nanotech lab. See Section 11.5, part (2).
(2)Everett's lab. See Section 11.4, part (2).
11.9 Synthetic Heart/Power Recirculator
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1)Versalife Level 2 labs. See Section 11.2, part (2).
-------------------------------------------
12. Augmentation Upgrade Canister Locations
-------------------------------------------
*A huge amount of credit for this section goes to the mysterious Claude, who
sent me a nice big email with a lot of useful stuff in it, including at least
half of these aug upgrade locations. I've made the directions more detailed,
since Claude sent me the general area in which they're found. Still, it saved
me a lot of work.
*19 aug upgrade canisters have been found so far. If anyone knows of any more,
I'd be glad to hear of them. Otherwise, when choosing your augs, bear in mind
that you can only use 19 upgrades at the absolute most, and that's if you take
the time to find them all.
*There are some spoilers in this section.
Mission 2: Hell's Kitchen
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) Behind the locked door in Osgood and Sons. You get the key to Osgood's
from one of the dead NSF guards outside.
Mission 3: Helibase
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) The upgrade is in the locked security room in the helibase. On entering
the base, head right (watch out for the camera above you - 20% bypass strength)
and down the corridor past the stairs. The key to the security room is found
on the guard in the first room on your right. Turn left out of the room and
back across the foyer part to the steps on the other side. The security room
is the furthest door from the stairs on this side. Look behind the plant pot
in the corner on the left and push the switch you find. The empty bookcase
will swing open and reveal a secret storeroom, including an upgrade canister.
Mission 4: Hell's Kitchen
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) In Paul's secret cupboard. Head to the 'Ton Hotel, and go upstairs. Find
the door on the north side. You'll be able to open it with your Nanokey, since
he gave you the key in Mission 2. Once inside, look behind the small painting
on the wall to reveal a keypad. The code is 4321. The wall to your left will
open up, and the aug upgrade canister will be on one of the shelves.
Mission 5: UNATCO HQ
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) Sam Carter. As you make your escape through the UNATCO building, stop by
on Level 3, where you meet Jaime Reyes and get the Regeneration aug. Go and
visit Carter in the armoury and he'll open it up for you. The upgrade canister
is on one of the shelves.
Mission 6: Hong Kong
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) Find the Old China Hand bar. Use the map you find in the Datacube at the
newsstand at Wan Chai market, and if all else fails just swim around in the
canal until you see the neon sign near the bar's entrance. Once inside, head
behind the barkeeper to the kitchen and then the freezer. Jump up the crates
and get into the ventilation duct. Follow it along until you see a ladder
heading down underwater. After a bit of swimming, you'll find a flooded road
with baby karkians swimming around. Take them out and keep going. Head left
out of the water and over some rocks, and you'll see a dead guy with the
canister.
(2) If, when you met Jaime in Mission 5, you told him to leave UNATCO as soon
as possible, he'll turn up at Tong's, with an aug upgrade canister. Personally
I ask him to stay at UNATCO, so he turns up in Paris with a handy bit of
information.
(3) Versalife Level 2 labs. See section 11.2, part (2).
Mission 8: Tanker
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) On the ship itself, there's a chemical lab. It's on the mid-level deck,
check the map that Tong gives you for details. The lab is in the northwest
corner of the deck, and inside it there's a safe, that you can pick (60%
strength) or blow open (50% strength).
(2) When you go to see Dowd in the crypt after scuttling the Wall Cloud, look
at the wall behind him - it's a safe with an upgrade canister inside.
Mission 9: Paris
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) The upgrade canister is found in the DuClares' basement. See Section 11.5,
Section (3).
Mission 10: Cathedral
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) Everett's lab. See Section 11.4, part (2).
Mission 11: Vandenberg
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) In a one of the lockers in the comms centre. Smashy-smashy.
(2) In the flooded generator room. Open the hatch in the back of the comms
centre and go down the corridor. The door on your right, protected by a camera
and turret, is the generator room. Take a deep breath and swim all the way
down to the bottom of the stairs. Hack the keypad. Search the body of the
mechanic inside to find the upgrade canister.
Mission 12: Underwater Base
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) More from Claude: "the body that has the canister is a the bottom of the
base. In the lowest part of the base, there is a large room with a large
spider bot, it has a lift, under the lift is water and the body is in there.
(2) If you manage to save Tiffany, then when you meet Dr Savage at the end of
the mission he'll give you an upgrade canister. Otherwise, he forgets.
Emotional stress and all that.
Mission 13: Area 51
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1) Found in the comm building, in the basement area. The hatch to get there
is protected by a 90% strength lock, so if you don't want to pick it head to
Hangar 18 first. On the roof of the building in the far right corner is a
dead mechanic and the key to the hatch. Anyway, once you're in the basement
of the comm building you'll see the upgrade canister behind bulletproof glass.
The keypad has 70% strength and I haven't found the code for it.
(2) Sector 2 Barracks. Once you pass the room with the blue laser beams all
over the floor, follow the corridor round till you reach a sort of crossroads.
Take a left an follow the corridor round, and you'll see a door on your left
marked Barracks. Open the door with the code 8946, then head to the
containment chamber with the body on it. The code is 0169.
(3) Station 17 in Sector 3. After you speak to Tong, he opens up Sector 3 for
you. On your right is the a door to a stairwell. Go all the way up, past the
doors to the Aquinas Hub, and you'll see Station 17. You can open up the
upgrade canister containment by hacking the nearby security panel, or you
could use the login Area51 and the password Bravo13.
(4) Once you get to Sector 4, keep going until you reach the big room with
the bodies suspended in liquid. Search the scientist's body to find the
upgrade canister.
-----------
13. Credits
-----------
*Thanks to Ion Storm, for making one of the few games I've been bothered to
play more than twice through, and for showing the world that futuristic games
don't have to have huge shoulder pads and aliens. Thanks to GameFAQs, for
being the only place I need to go for help on pretty much any game outside of
Lula: Virtual Babe. Ahem.
*Contribution credits: Claude, KF, Samson.